Numerous industries require the labor intensive task of reducing materials to smaller particles and even to a fine powder. For example, the utility industry requires coal to be reduced from nuggets to powder before being burned in power generation furnaces. Limestone, chalk and many other minerals must also, for most uses, be reduced to powder form. Breaking up solids and grinding it into powder is a mechanically demanding process. Ball mills, hammer mills, and other mechanical structures impact on, and crush, the pieces of material. These systems, although functional, are inefficient and relatively slow in processing.
Numerous industries further require moisture extraction from a wide range of materials. Food processing, sewage waste treatment, crop harvesting, mining, and many other industries require moisture extraction. In some industries materials are discarded because moisture extraction cannot be performed efficiently. These same materials, if they could be efficiently dried, would otherwise provide a commercial benefit. In other industries, such as waste treatment and processing, water extraction is an ongoing concern and tremendous demand exists for improved methods. Although several techniques exist for dehydrating materials, there is an increasing need for improved moisture extraction efficiency.
Thus, it would be an advancement in the art to provide more efficient processes for pulverizing materials and extracting moisture from materials. Such techniques are disclosed and claimed herein.